Double vision defined this year’s Golden Globe nominations, with Clint Eastwood drawing dual director nods for his twin World War II epics “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters From Iwo Jima,” while Leonardo DiCaprio achieved an equally unprecedented feat for his dramatic roles in “The Departed” and “Blood Diamond.”

Overall, “Babel” took home the most nominations with seven, followed by “The Departed” with six and “Dreamgirls” with five.

Major studios engineered something of a comeback, after domination by indie and specialty wings characterized last year’s award ceremonies.

Though studio tallies are nearly impossible, the strong showing of the majors includes Warner Bros., (“The Departed”), Fox (“Borat” and “The Devil Wears Prada”) and Paramount/DreamWorks (co-production of “Dreamgirls”)

Throw in Fox Searchlight’s “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Thank You for Smoking,” and News Corp. units claimed four of five comedy nominees.

Eastwood, who was out of town on Thursday, issued a statement saying, “I am very grateful to the Hollywood Foreign Press for their recognition. ‘Flags Of Our Fathers’ and ‘Letters From Iwo Jima’ are projects that I hold very dear, and I am thrilled that the members of the HFPA share my enthusiasm for these two movies.”

Related

Despite Eastwood’s personal coup — placing him, like DiCaprio, in competition with himself — “Flags” was overlooked in the drama category. Recognition there went to “The Departed,” “Babel,” the 1968-set “Bobby,” “Little Children” and “The Queen,” whose star, Helen Mirren, equaled Jamie Foxx’s 2005 benchmark of three nominations in a single year.

Beyond her role as England’s current monarch, a similar Mirren vs. Mirren scenario emerged — for playing another queen in HBO’s “Elizabeth I” as well as the final installment of PBS’ “Prime Suspect: The Final Act,” which were both nominees in the miniseries category as well.

“As you can imagine, it was an incredibly demanding, exhausting year, but I knew I had to gird up my loins, as it were, and do it,” Mirren said. As for landing several choices roles at a time when many mature actresses struggle to find work, she added, “I think a lot of actresses may be very cross with me this year.”

Presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., the Globes’ acting categories were as usual extremely telegenic and eclectic, from “Borat” star-performance artist Sacha Baron Cohen to a supporting nod to Jack Nicholson — already the proud owner of a record six Globes — for “The Departed.”

Notably, of the 30 acting nominations in feature films, six went to African-Americans: “Dreamgirls’ ” Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy; Will Smith (“The Pursuit of Happyness”); Forest Whitaker (“The Last King of Scotland”); and Chiwetel Ejiofor (“Kinky Boots”).

This year also marks an anomaly in the foreign-language film category, where two U.S.-produced movies — Eastwood’s “Iwo Jima,” in Japanese; and Mel Gibson’s violent epic “Apocalypto,” shot using a Mayan dialect — edged out international projects. That prospect prompted grumbling even before the awards were unveiled and could spur tinkering with the rules.

That said, with neither film eligible for foreign-language consideration at the Oscars, the category might be the least significant in terms of providing a bellwether for subsequent competition. The other nominees are Mexico’s “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “The Lives of Others” from Germany and Spain’s “Volver,” which also gained a bid for star Penelope Cruz.

Although the Globes are historically considered a strong predictor for the Oscars — having matched the best picture winner all but once from 1993 to 2004 — the two diverged the last two years, when “Crash” and “Million Dollar Baby” were anointed best picture by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

The HFPA honored “Brokeback Mountain” and “The Aviator,” respectively, as outstanding drama those years, with Eastwood’s nominations setting up a sort-of rematch with Martin Scorsese, in contention again for “The Departed,” after Eastwood took the prize two years ago.

“Nashville” remains the most-nominated film in Globe history, earning nine bids (but just one award) in 1976.

Because of the Globes’ prominent role in the movie kudo season, the television categories generally produce less hoopla. One advantage, however, is the mid-TV season timing, allowing the group to single out first-year programs early in their run — a trend that led to series nods to a half-dozen newcomers last year.

This fall’s hatchlings made somewhat less of a splash, though HBO’s “Big Love,” NBC’s “Heroes” and ABC’s “Ugly Betty” did garner series nominations, as did a player from each of those programs — in sequence, Bill Paxton, Masi Oka and America Ferrara.

While HBO again led with 14 lots in this year’s derby, pay rival Showtime enjoyed a bit of a breakout year, with “Weeds” tying “Desperate Housewives’ ” TV-leading four noms, augmented by acting nods to “Dexter’s” Michael C. Hall and “Sleeper Cell’s” Michael Ealy. Sibling CBS, by contrast, received a lone nomination for Julia Louis-Dreyfus, already an Emmy winner for its sitcom “The New Adventures of Old Christine.”

In addition to Mirren and DiCaprio, four other performers received two nominations, each straddling the TV-feature divide: Annette Bening for “Running With Scissors” and “Mrs. Harris”; Toni Collette for “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Tsunami”; Ejiofor for that HBO mini and “Kinky Boots,” and Emily Blunt for “Prada” and the BBC movie “Gideon’s Daughter.”

(Beyonce Knowles is also a double nominee, for lead actress and as a co-writer of song contender “Listen.”)

Only two actors have won twice in the same year: Sigourney Weaver and Joan Plowright in 1989 and ’93, respectively.

Among other bits of Globe trivia, no category is more crowded than lead actor in a TV movie or miniseries, with seven contenders making the cut.

Following the Oscars, the Globes are inaugurating a 25th category for animated feature, consisting of “Cars,” “Monster House” and “Happy Feet,” which also earned a nod for song.

The awards will be presented Jan. 15 and televised for the 12th consecutive year on NBC. Warren Beatty will receive the Cecil B. DeMille award.

“There’s a lot more pressure at the Oscars,” said “Babel” producer Steve Golin. “The Globes are a lot of fun.”

Sign Up for Breaking News Alerts

See Nominees Double vision defined this year’s Golden Globe nominations, with Clint Eastwood drawing dual director nods for his twin World War II epics “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters From Iwo Jima,” while Leonardo DiCaprio achieved an equally unprecedented feat for his dramatic roles in “The Departed” and “Blood Diamond.” Overall, “Babel” took home […]

See Nominees Double vision defined this year’s Golden Globe nominations, with Clint Eastwood drawing dual director nods for his twin World War II epics “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters From Iwo Jima,” while Leonardo DiCaprio achieved an equally unprecedented feat for his dramatic roles in “The Departed” and “Blood Diamond.” Overall, “Babel” took home […]

See Nominees Double vision defined this year’s Golden Globe nominations, with Clint Eastwood drawing dual director nods for his twin World War II epics “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters From Iwo Jima,” while Leonardo DiCaprio achieved an equally unprecedented feat for his dramatic roles in “The Departed” and “Blood Diamond.” Overall, “Babel” took home […]

See Nominees Double vision defined this year’s Golden Globe nominations, with Clint Eastwood drawing dual director nods for his twin World War II epics “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters From Iwo Jima,” while Leonardo DiCaprio achieved an equally unprecedented feat for his dramatic roles in “The Departed” and “Blood Diamond.” Overall, “Babel” took home […]

See Nominees Double vision defined this year’s Golden Globe nominations, with Clint Eastwood drawing dual director nods for his twin World War II epics “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters From Iwo Jima,” while Leonardo DiCaprio achieved an equally unprecedented feat for his dramatic roles in “The Departed” and “Blood Diamond.” Overall, “Babel” took home […]

See Nominees Double vision defined this year’s Golden Globe nominations, with Clint Eastwood drawing dual director nods for his twin World War II epics “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters From Iwo Jima,” while Leonardo DiCaprio achieved an equally unprecedented feat for his dramatic roles in “The Departed” and “Blood Diamond.” Overall, “Babel” took home […]

See Nominees Double vision defined this year’s Golden Globe nominations, with Clint Eastwood drawing dual director nods for his twin World War II epics “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters From Iwo Jima,” while Leonardo DiCaprio achieved an equally unprecedented feat for his dramatic roles in “The Departed” and “Blood Diamond.” Overall, “Babel” took home […]